841 Before the Reform
In the capital, the case of a third-rank official being forced by his parents to commit suicide by hitting his head against the wall had shaken the entire court.
This was already the second instance. For such a high-ranking official of the Imperial court, he had been forced into a corner by “filial piety.”
As a result, the Imperial court had a dispute over whether the “law of filial piety” was reasonable or not!
Some people suggested that although this “law of filial piety” was a system passed down by the ancestors of this dynasty, they relied on this law to allow the people to live in peace.
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However, in the long run, this “law of filial piety” exposed its serious drawbacks, causing many grievances and misjudgments. For this, countless filial sons and grandsons had paid with their lives.
Therefore, this “law of filial piety” must be changed!
As for those who were conservative and stubborn, they were seriously protesting the change.
They said, ” since our ancestors could create the stability of the country through the ‘filial piety’, we can do the same now. The purpose of the law is for Long Yan Kingdom is to rule the country with filial piety. Therefore, we can’t just give up the ancestral system just because of a few bad examples!”
In short, the two sides could not reach a consensus.
The Emperor, who was sitting high on the throne, had a dignified expression on his face. His eyes were sharp as he stared at their dispute.
When the two sides became more and more heated, and their faces were red, the Emperor snorted, and the argument immediately quieted down. Everyone lowered their heads in fear, not daring to look at the Emperor.
Because they all knew that the Emperor was angry.
The Emperor sat high up and looked down at the princes, grandsons, and ministers below.
Then, the Emperor seemed to ask nonchalantly, ” Huang ‘er, ye ‘er, Hong ‘er, what do you think? Should this ‘law of filial piety’ be changed or not?”
The people the Emperor called were the Crown Prince Yuwen Yuyu, the third Prince Yuwen feiye, and the emperor’s eldest grandson Yuwen Xuhong.
As everyone knew, these three people were the most powerful competitors for the throne.
Crown Prince Yuwen Yuyu was the eldest son of the current Empress, Chen Wanyue.
The third Prince, Yuwen feiye, was the son of the Imperial Noble Consort, Zhou Wenya.
The eldest Imperial grandson, Yuwen Xuhong, was the eldest son of the previous Crown Prince. If the previous Empress and the previous Crown Prince did not die of illness, then the throne should be inherited by him.
However, things were unpredictable …
Now that the Emperor was asking them the same question at the same time, everyone knew that the Emperor was using this question to evaluate the abilities and judgment of the princes.
For a moment, the atmosphere was so quiet and tense that they could even hear each other’s breathing.
The eyes of the three Imperial sons and grandsons were filled with contemplation, seriousness, sharpness, and a hint of challenge.
At this moment, Yuwen feiye said impatiently, ” father, I don’t think it’s appropriate to change it!”
The emperor’s face was expressionless. He only gave a faint ” Oh ” and asked, ” why? ”
Yuwen feiye explained, “father, this is, after all, a system set by the ancestors. Back then, our ancestors moved the world with ‘filial piety’ and gained the world. Later on, he even ruled the country with filial piety to bring peace to the country and the people. These are all impressive achievements brought about by ‘filial piety’.
“Now, just based on a few isolated examples, we are going to ignore the ancestor system?! This is a great unfilial act to our ancestors!”
As soon as Yuwen Feiye finished speaking, the officials began to discuss among themselves. Some of them nodded in agreement, while the others did not.
The Emperor did not nod or deny it. He only pointed at the Crown Prince and asked, “Yu ‘Er, what do you think? ”
When Yuwen Yuyu heard his name being called out, he thought for a moment and said seriously, “Our dynasty has followed the ancestral system of governing the country with filial piety to calm the people so that the people of the world can follow the example of our ancestors and respect the old and the young, and be filial to their parents!
“However, all laws have flaws and loopholes, and the ‘law of filial piety’ is no exception!”
Hearing this, everyone understood that the crown prince’s views were different from the third Prince’s.
Yuwen Yuyu looked carefully at the Emperor who was sitting on the throne. The Emperor still showed no expression, but he did not stop Yuwen Yuyu from continuing.
Yuwen Yuyu continued, ” this ‘law of filial piety’ is not bad in other aspects. However, children who are adopted, sold, abandoned, cut off, and so on still have to be filial to their biological parents. This has led to the greed of some biological parents.
“Whether they were poor or not and whether they could afford to raise their children was another matter. However, other than giving birth to their children, they did not put in any effort in raising their children. When their children grew up, regardless of whether they were poor or not, their parents would reach out to them to force them to support their estranged parents. If the children refused, they would be ‘unfilial’ and they would be forced to fulfill the obligation of supporting their parents. At the same time, this caused the children to suffer unspeakable pain, but they had no way to complain because their so-called biological parents had the Imperial court’s pardon!
“This will cause many children to be forced to commit suicide to end their relationship with their parents!”
When he said this, it immediately caused everyone to start discussing.
This time, some people supported the crown prince’s words, while some people opposed it!
Most of the officials who supported the Crown Prince were young officials. As for those who opposed it, they were officials who were already grandfathers.
“So? what are your thoughts? ” the Emperor asked again.
Unable to see any of the emperor’s emotions, Yuwen Yuyu’s heart immediately became a little uneasy. His entire body tensed up as he carefully said,
“Father, I believe that we should continue with the ancestral system of ‘filial piety’. We still have to be filial to our parents, but those children who were adopted, sold, abandoned, and cut off from their parents can be said to have no relationship with their biological parents. It seems a little forced that they still have to fulfill the duties of children and be filial to their parents.”
“So, you mean that this law must be abolished or changed? ” The Emperor continued to ask with a dignified expression.
The crown prince’s heart thumped, but he could only bite the bullet and say, ” Imperial father, I think that the system needs to be changed!”
The Emperor didn’t nod or shake his head. He just asked Jiang Zhennan, who had been standing silently below the stage, in a serious and deep voice, ” Minister Jiang, what do you think? “
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